A fire gutted four furniture manufacturing units and ten residential homes at Changzamtog in Thimphu yesterday. The incident is believed to have taken place at around 1 am. Ten families have been left homeless and around 30 people jobless after the incident.
The fire is believed to have broken out from one of the manufacturing units before spreading to the other structures. Police were reported at around 2:30 am. They said by the time firefighters reached the location, most of the structures were already burnt down.
Officials are investigating what caused the fire and how it all started.
“I don’t know how this accident happened. When we woke up at 1:30, one of the furniture houses was already on fire. It had all burned down and the fire was coming towards us. So we woke the others and when we reached outside, our house had already caught fire,” Joti Adhikari, a victim, said.
“This will not only affect me but my eleven employees as well. Some of them were asking me about the factory. They were worried about their jobs as the factory would be closed. I told them not to worry, we have our government and they will definitely help us. They might not be able to find work elsewhere since most of them are uneducated and they have their family to look after,” Bal Maya Gurung, the Proprietor of Maya Furniture House, said.
“I have a loan of Nu 4.2 M from Bank of Bhutan I took to purchase machinery for my factory. I still have Nu 2.1 M left to pay. I don’t know how the incident happened, I was shocked. Since I purchased all the machinery with a loan, I don’t know what to do now,” Choki Wangchuk, the Proprietor for Norbu Lhamo Manufacturing Unit, said.
Although there were no causalities, all belongings and property were lost to the fire. Police are investigating the cause of the incident.
The Office of The Gyalpoi Zimpon visited the site and met with the aggrieved families and delivered His Majesty’s Royal Semso.
